Trump administration closing civil rights cases at an increased rate

With help from Mel Leonor, Michael Stratford, Caitlin Emma and Alex Guillen

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CLOSING CIVIL RIGHTS CASES AT AN INCREASED RATE: New marching orders from Betsy DeVos’ civil rights chief have the Education Department churning through civil rights complaints. The department has closed more than 1,500 complaints of discrimination at the nation’s schools — including dismissing more than 900 outright — in the two months since Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Candice Jackson took steps she said were aimed at reducing a massive backlog.

Story Continued Below

— Jackson in June told the department's investigators to narrow their focus to the merits of a particular claim, rather than probing systemic issues, as they had done during the Obama administration. Jackson also gave regional civil rights offices more autonomy to close cases without approval from D.C. In the seven weeks since she issued the directive, investigators closed 1,533 complaints on issues ranging from web accessibility for blind students to claims that college administrators mishandled sexual assault complaints. That represents a nearly 20 percent jump in the number of cases closed during the same period last year, according to data obtained by POLITICO.

— The bulk of the closed complaints — 915 — was dismissed outright, a 13 percent jump over the year before. Another 206 were closed after investigators said they couldn’t find sufficient evidence to support the claims, a 78 percent jump. Another 215 cases were closed after schools agreed to change policies to come into compliance — nearly double the number of cases that resulted in change during the same period last year.

— The dismissals come as civil rights groups and Democrats express fear the Trump administration will “diminish” civil rights enforcement — a major focus of Barack Obama’s Education Department. Advocacy groups said that while the data offers just a two-month snapshot, the large number of dismissals and so-called “administrative closures” — in which a case is closed without any findings of wrongdoing — are alarming.

— The administration said civil rights investigators still take every complaint seriously and look into each one before deciding whether to dismiss it or open a full probe. They have maintained a longstanding practice of calling complainants to see if they have more information than was included in their complaints before dismissing them, officials said. “There’s no thumb on the scale,” a high-level civil rights official told POLITICO. “It’s where the evidence takes our highly trained investigators and attorneys.” Read the full story here.

THE RIGHT TO LITERACY IN DETROIT’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Detroit’s embattled public schools will take the spotlight at a court hearing today over whether they offer students a fair chance to learn how to read. The class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of seven Michigan students, argues that Detroit’s “chaotic, under-resourced and unsafe schools” run afoul the Supreme Court’s 1982 ruling in Plyler v. Doe, which struck down a Texas statute that excluded undocumented immigrant children from the state’s public schools. The court held that access to a basic education and literacy are protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

— In Gary B. v. Snyder, attorneys representing Detroit students fault Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, the Michigan Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Whiston for allowing Detroit Public Schools and the district’s charter schools to continuously underperform and deteriorate. A lack of certified teachers, books, school supplies and evidence-based curricula have led to dismal English proficiency rates, they argue. (At one elementary school tied to the lawsuit, just 4.2 percent of third-graders performed at grade levelin the state’s English assessment.) The complaint also describes overheated classrooms infested with cockroaches and yellow-jackets, and where living and dead mice regularly send students and teachers screaming into hallways. “By its actions and inactions, the State of Michigan’s … failure to deliver instruction and tools essential for access to literacy in plaintiffs’ schools, which serve almost exclusively low-income children of color, deprives students of even a fighting chance,” the complaint reads.

— Michigan leaders will argue in court tomorrow that “there is no fundamental right to literacy,” and ask the court to dismiss the case. Attorneys representing Michigan leaders argue that a ruling in favor of the students would strip the state of its right to make education policy, and turn the court into a “super legislature” dictating education policy in “every school district and school building throughout the United States where an illiterate child may be found.”

RURAL ACCESS TO AP COURSES: Gaps between rural and urban students’ access to Advanced Placement courses has narrowed significantly over the past 15 years, according to a study from the College Board and the Education Commission of the States. While students in urban and suburban schools have for years enjoyed nearly universal access to at least one AP course, the study found only 73 percent of students attending rural schools currently do. But that number is up from 56 percent in 2001, a trend that could mean a closing of the gap in coming years. The study also found an increase in the percentage of students with access to an AP course in a STEM subject, from 42 percent in 2011 to 62 percent in 2015.

— While the study found similar participation rates among rural, suburban and urban students, performance gaps persist. About 48 percent of rural AP test-takers achieved a passing score, compared to 62 percent of students living in suburban areas. (Urban students passed at a rate of 52 percent.) Read the report.

TRUMP’S 2-FOR-1 REG ORDER GOES TO COURT: A federal judge will hold a hearing this morning on President Donald Trump’s “2-for-1” regulatory executive order that directed agencies to identify two rules for revision or repeal for every one rule finalized. A trio of groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen and the Communications Workers of America — argue that Trump’s order is unlawful and endangers public welfare by threatening health and safety rules across the government. The administration says Trump's order is a valid exercise of presidential authority and doesn't require agencies to do more than identify potential rules to cut. The administration also argues that it is too early to challenge the order, and that the groups must wait for an agency to act on it before going to court. The 10 a.m. hearing is before Judge Randolph D. Moss, an Obama appointee on the U.S. District Court for D.C.

DEVOS SAYS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IS NOT INVOLVED IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROBE: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos distanced her agency from any possible Trump administration inquiries into affirmative action policies in college admissions in an interview with the Associated Press. She said the use of race in college admissions “has been a question for the courts and the courts have opined.” The Justice Department said it plans to investigate how race influences admissions at Harvard University, sparking concerns from civil rights groups that the administration plans to target affirmative action. But DeVos told the AP that her department was not involved. Asked whether race should play a role in college admissions, DeVos said it is already considered in the selection process. “Well, they are looking at that, that is a factor today,” DeVos said referring to college admissions officers. “I am not going to debate that, I am not going to discuss that.” Read the full interview here.

— DeVos’ comments came the same day that six Democratic senators wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking whether the Justice Department is coordinating with her on the issue of affirmative action. "Please provide copies of all written communications between the Department of Education and the Department of Justice related to affirmative action strategy," they wrote. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) — all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — also want to know why the division solicited resumes for lawyers to work on the affirmative action issue, and what they are looking for on the resumes.

— Also on affirmative action: The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill has to turn over additional admissions data in a high-profile lawsuit challenging its admissions policies. The group Students for Fair Admissions contends the university's policies discriminate against Asian and white students. This case, and a similar one filed by the same group against Harvard University, are being watched closely by the higher education and civil rights communities because of the possibility they could go to the Supreme Court. The group has said the additional material, which a federal judge this week ordered the school to provide, was needed to evaluate UNC's admissions policy and procedure. Kimberly Hefling has more.

THE LATEST EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL NEWS: DeVos has hired David James, a Republican with a background on the Hill and at the Labor Department, as a consultant, according to information provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. James, who started working with the Education Department earlier this summer, is helping DeVos with communications. “David James was brought in as a contractor in the Office of the Secretary to work on short term projects, drawing on his previous experience in government,” press secretary Liz Hill told Pro Education’s Caitlin Emma. James was most recently the media director for the Republican Main Street Partnership, a centrist Republican 501(c)4 group. He was a senior adviser and spokesman to former Florida Rep. Curt Clawson and former assistant secretary of public affairs at the Labor Department during the George W. Bush administration.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

— Joseph South has been named as the chief learning officer at The International Society for Technology in Education. He previously led the Education Department’s Office of Educational Technology during the Obama administration.

— Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will lead the National Governors Association’s Education and Workforce Committee, and South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard will serve as vice chair. More here.

SYLLABUS

— Big business has nearly killed Texas’ ‘bathroom bill’ — but it won’t hold it against the state’s Republican leadership: The Dallas Morning News.

— North Carolina’s Democratic governor says in court filings that the Republican Legislature has usurped his role in recommending and administering state budget provisions: The Associated Press.

— Alabama Superintendent Michael Sentance will address concerns held by the state board of education about his job performance: AL.com.

— Companies owned by the founder of the online school ECOT should return $12 million they over-collected from the school because of inflated attendance claims, an Ohio auditor says: The Plain Dealer.

— Male students at Texas’ two largest universities — the University of Texas and Texas A&M — are the latest to push back against campus sexual assault policies: The Houston Chronicle.

** A message from the George Washington University: George Washington University's Master’s degree in Education Policy will give you the opportunity to develop solutions to educational issues facing the nation and around the globe. This program attracts those interested in the political and social environments affecting education policy with an emphasis on the competencies needed to develop policy options, analyze their potential, implement effectively, and evaluate impacts. Because of our distinct location in the nation's capital, Washington DC, internships are offered in a variety of federal, state, and local agencies.

Graduates of the Education Policy Masters program take on positions at think tanks, non-profit national organizations, government agencies, and international organizations providing support and analysis for education-related decision-making. Impact education policy decision-making by applying today! http://politi.co/2AJDuGm **

About The Author

Benjamin Wermund is an education reporter for POLITICO Pro, covering federal policy and national education issues. He’s a Texas expat and a diehard Spurs fan and he has a weakness for margaritas and queso. Before joining POLITICO, Ben covered higher education at the Houston Chronicle and K-12 education at the Austin American-Statesman. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked as a reporter, editor and managing editor for The Daily Texan and spent a brief stint covering West Texas for the Big Bend Sentinel.